The Chhattisgarh Government has plans of electrifying all rural branches of State Bank of India (SBI) in the State with solar power during the next two years, officials informed. The Government has also targetted to electrify all the 19,000 villages in the State with solar power during the next two years. Notably, Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) has invested Rs 400 crores during last 11 years in developing infrastructure for solar power generation which had resulted in 40 MW of electricity being generated from non conventional energy sources.

The agency will be installing a total of 10,000 submersible and surface solar photo voltaic (SPV) irrigation pumps in farm lands soon across the State. The SPV Pumps shall be provided with lightening and over voltage protection. The principal aim in this protection is to reduce the over voltage to a tolerable value before it reaches the PV or other sub-systems components. The source of over voltage can be lightening or any other atmospheric disturbance, officials informed.

Notably, the State government has already commenced preparation for setting up 51,000 solar powered irrigation pumps in a span of two-and-half-years in the State. The Government has set the target of setting up 11,000 solar pumps in the current financial year till March 2017 and the rest during the next two years. Notably, Chhattisgarh Government is planning to add 2640 MW of additional renewable energy capacity by financial year 2018-19, officials informed.

The State currently has total renewable energy potential of 4,500 MW which includes solar (grid connected and roof top), wind biomass and small hydro. The State has also planned to install solar powered pump sets for agriculture consumers which will benefit 16,000 consumers. It may be recalled that there are significantly more number of villages which are to be electrified in Chhattisgarh using the off-grid (solar) mode than the grid-based (conventional power supply) mode.

As per the latest data available with the Union Ministry of Power, a total of 543 villages have to be electrified under ‘off-grid’ mode compared to 101 through the conventional power supply grid as on May 31, 2016. The State will soon also launch a ‘Solar Community Irrigation Project’ for drawing water extracted using solar pumps for supplying to the agricultural land of farmers across the State. The pipeline extension project to be executed by CREDA would be undertaken shortly, officials informed. Chhattisgarh is planning to add 2640 MW of additional renewable energy capacity by financial year 2018-19, officials informed.

The State currently has total renewable energy potential of 4,500 MW which includes solar (grid connected and roof top), wind biomass and small hydro. The State has also planned to install solar powered pump sets for agriculture consumers which will benefit 16,000 consumers. It may be recalled that there are significantly more number of villages which are to be electrified in Chhattisgarh using the off-grid (solar) mode than the grid-based (conventional power supply) mode. As per the latest data available with the Union Ministry of Power, a total of 543 villages have to be electrified under ‘off-grid’ mode compared to 101 through the conventional power supply grid as on May 31, 2016.

The State will soon also launch a ‘Solar Community Irrigation Project’ for drawing water extracted using solar pumps for supplying to the agricultural land of farmers across the State. The pipeline extension project to be executed by Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) would be undertaken shortly, officials informed. Notably , the Central Government last year had approved Raipur and Bilaspur to be developed as ‘Solar cities’ in Chhattisgarh. So far, 55 existing cities in 27 States/UTs are being developed as solar cities in the country under ‘Development of Solar Cities Programme’, senior Government officials stated.

In fact, Raipur city was the only among nine other cities in the country which was chosen by the Centre among the ‘Pilot Solar Cities’ for implementation of its ambitious ‘Development of Solar Cities Programme’ in 2013-14,as per the 2013-14 annual report of the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for 2013-14.